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Wednesday, 1 July 2015

Hair Of The Dog - The Siren's Song (Album Review)

‘The tone of the record is undeniably loud and heavy, but incorporates an atmosphere which is vibrant, full of energy and represents a band with a very bright future indeed’.

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 10/07/2015

Label: Kozmik Artifactz

'The Siren's Song' CD//DD track Listing:

1). Into The Storm

2). You Soft Spoken Thing

3). Don't Know My Name

4). The Spell

5). Weary Bones

6). Gypsy Eyes

7). My Only Home

8). Wage With The Devil

9). The Siren's Song Part 1

10). The Siren's Song Part 2

Hair of the Dog is:

Adam Holt | Guitar/Vocals

Jon Holt | Drums

Iain Thomson | Bass

Review:

Hotly Tipped Psych Rockers, Hair Of The Dog return with their second album ‘The Siren's Song’. They released a debut album back in 2012 which sadly passed me by. Fast forward to 2015 and ‘The Siren's Song’ is the very definition of what a great Hard Rock album should be. It wastes no time in laying down the law and telling you who are in charge, and it isn’t you. Opening track ‘Into The Storm’ is a Psychedelic Blues/Classic/Hard Rock number that brings back memories of Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Led Zepp and the Black Sabbath.If you dig the classic guitar sound of the 70s then you’re going to be in luck, because Hair Of The Dog has you covered on all levels.

In terms of the vocals, they are beautifully crafted and feel as if they were recorded in the 70s. Lead vocalist, Adam Holt shows his impressive vocal range on the 2nd track ‘You Soft Spoken Thing’ as he goes from soft-spoken romanticism to grizzled rock-god with apparent ease. The instrumental work is superb throughout too as the band create magically crafted riffs.Hair Of The Dog combines classic hard rock musical landscapes with a more thumping and modern sounding stoner rock atmosphere. If that wasn’t enough, the record is a very bluesy affair, with lyrics containing tales of heartfelt emotion and woe. Third track ‘Don't Know My Name’ maybe classed as retro-rock by some, but for me it has an abundance of good old fashioned Classic/Stoner Rock magic, further demonstrating why Hair Of The Dog are so highly thought of.

‘The Siren's Song’ is a very loud album from beginning to end. No matter what genre or sounds the members put their minds to, Hair Of The Dog is very much a band who takes influence from the past whilst still maintaining a more modern sound. So you have the best of both worlds. Classic Hard Rock riffs mixed with the heavier Psych/Stoner element, perhaps best exemplified on the 4th track ‘The Spell’, which is an action-packed number that will get your head-banging and your foot tapping in unison. The lyrics demonstrate simplicity to them, but in my eyes that's a good thing, because this song is about rocking out and living life in the moment and not thinking about the more depressing things in life.

I was beginning to worry that Hair Of The Dog were going to bring a ballad to the party and they do with the track ‘Weary Bones’, a slow-burning ‘lighter in the air’ style song.Despite my initial reservations the track is fully loaded with some fantastic riffs throughout and whilst it is not one of the strongest songs on the album, it does show how focused and determined the band is by playing by their own rules. Lead vocalist Adam channels the spirit of Phil Lynott at times, perhaps not in vocal tone or structure, but definitely with the delivery and the confidence that Phil Lynott was known for.

People maybe fed-up with the non-stop onslaught of Retro/Classic Rock bands starting to appear recently, but you'll have no such worries with Hair Of The Dog, they breathe new life into this overly saturated genre. Songs such as: ‘Gypsy Eyes’, ‘My Only Home’ and the awesome two-part closing opusof ‘The Siren's Song’ prove that Hair Of The Dog have something to offer to everyone. The tone of the record is undeniably loud and heavy, but incorporates an atmosphere which is vibrant, full of energy and represents a band with a very bright future indeed. ‘The Siren's Song’ may not create the most original of sounds but these guys are still miles ahead of the competition within the Classic/Hard Rock genre. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Words by: Steve Howe

The Siren's Song will be availble to buy on CD/DD from Kozmik Artifactz on July 10th 2015.

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